Remembering the crew of R5695EM-C and EUGENE EDWARD CHOUINIERE

 BORN APRIL 11, 1923

DIED NOVEMBER 22, 1942 ON A BOMBING MISSION TO GERMANY

HALFMOON, SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK and COHOES, ALBANY COUNTY, NEW YORK

19 YEARS OLD

Eugene E. Chouiniere was from a large Franco-American family in upstate New York. Eugene’s parents, Alfred Chouiniere and Rose Bonneau, married in Cohoes, New York in February 1895 and farmed in rural Waterford where Eugene was born on April 11th, 1923. He was the youngest of 13 children. When his father died, Eugene was 5 years old and 15 when his mother died. His older siblings, especially his oldest sister Rose, took responsibility for his welfare. In 1940, Eugene was living on Lansing Lane in Cohoes with Rose, her husband, and their two daughters, Elizabeth and Lea. Lea always remembered spending time with the companion of her teen years who was also her uncle. They hunted in the fields and fished in streams all summer long.

When Eugene attempted to join the US armed forces the recruiter told him to first finish high school and then reapply. Greatly disappointed, Eugene waited until a few days after his 18th birthday and “jumped on the train to Montreal” and enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force. The RCAF interviewer noted he was “rather young, immature and lacking in experience.” He was also “sincere, willing and determined to fly and fight” and “should improve with training.”

After his training in Canada and before he was sent to England, Eugene took leave to visit his siblings back in upstate New York. Handsome in his RCAF uniform, Eugene was showered with his family’s attention - many photographs were taken. This would be the last time the Chouiniere family saw their little brother. In England, after more training, Eugene became an air gunner flying missions in RAF Squadron 207 based at the Langar Airfield near Nottingham, England. After the July 31st, 1942, raid on Düsseldorf, Germany, Eugene was interviewed by several war correspondents. The story was published in The San Francisco Examiner on August 2nd with the headline “DÜSSELDORF RAID THRILLS U.S. FLYER”. Eugene was quoted: “It was one of the best shows I have ever seen. When we left there was one tremendous fire keeping high and visible from the Dutch coast.” Another correspondent described Eugene as “freckle-faced with steel- rimmed glasses and a mild manner.” He was really a small-town boy who took to the mission with dedication and purpose. Eugene completed 13 missions in 1942 while in the RAF Bomber Command.